This is precisely what Art Connects Us seeks to achieve. It brings contemporary sculpture to places where no one expects to encounter it—in streets, town squares, parks, on the outskirts of towns, and in the countryside. Nine artists, fourteen installations, and thousands of visitors who may not even have realized they were about to experience an exhibition. They were simply on their way somewhere—and art stopped them.

The Vysočina Region is far more than a landscape of rolling hills, ponds, and lookout towers. It is a region deeply rooted in craftsmanship, stone, and the passage of time. A place where hands still work directly with materials, where wood, metal, and stone remain an integral part of everyday life. It is here—in Pelhřimov, Horní Cerekev, and Svépravice—that a new sculpture festival is taking place for the very first time, connecting contemporary art with the unique spirit and traditions of the region.

Art Connects Us is more than just a title. It is a statement of belief. The sculptures presented across Vysočina are not decorations or ornaments. They are bridges—between artist and viewer, between the past and present of a place, between village and world, between you and the person standing beside you, looking at the very same work.

Galleries are wonderful places, but they have doors. Crossing those doors, visitors already know they are about to encounter art, and they approach it accordingly. Outdoor sculpture knows no such boundary. It stands between you and the bakery where you’re buying fresh bread. It sits beside the bench where you’re waiting for the bus. It appears unexpectedly around a corner. And it is precisely this moment—the moment of an unplanned encounter—that holds extraordinary power. It arrives without labels or expectations. It simply exists: a form with shape, shadow, and weight. It asks questions without demanding definite answers.

Pelhřimov, Horní Cerekev, and Svépravice—three places of different scales, different characters, and different histories. Yet for one summer they become one exhibition and one shared story. The sculptures installed throughout their streets, squares, and surrounding landscapes create an invisible thread that connects these places—and the people who live in them.

We invite you to follow that thread. To pause for a moment. And perhaps to meet someone you have never met before, brought together by a work of art that surprises you both.

Because art truly does connect us.

Michal Trpák
Sculptor and Curator